[123] Fronsac,—on the Dordogne, six leagues from Bordeaux.
[124] Libourne,—a city of Guienne on the Dordogne, 10 leagues from Bordeaux.
[125] Chambre royalle,—Cotgrave says, is a court for the examination and inquiry into the conduct of financiers and exchequer-men.
[126] Rions,—a town in Guienne, three leagues from Bordeaux.
[127] Aleth,—a small city in upper Languedoc.
[128] Langres,—a large city of Champagne, and one of the six ecclesiastical peerages of France.
CHAP. XXVII.
THE CITY OF BAYONNE IS BESIEGED BY THE COUNTS DE FOIX AND DE DUNOIS, LIEUTENANTS-GENERAL TO THE KING.—IT SURRENDERS.—THE REGULATIONS MADE IN CONSEQUENCE.—POPE NICHOLAS MARRIES THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY TO THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF PORTUGAL.—THE EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE IN ENGLAND.
At this period, the king determined in council to lay siege to Bayonne, which was still held by the English, and for this purpose issued his orders from the castle of Taillebourg[129] to his lieutenants-general, the counts de Foix and de Dunois, to march thither with a large body of lances, archers and guisarmes. Of these, four hundred lances were supplied by the king, and four hundred were attached to the count de Foix and his vassals: it was a fine sight to see their handsome equipment in horses, armour, and splendid helmets. The count had also with him two thousand cross-bows and targeteers from his own country.
When the count de Foix had commenced the siege, he created several knights; such as the son to the master of the king's household, the lord de Tessac, brother to the lord de Noailles, Bertrand de l'Espagne, seneschal of Foix, Roger de l'Espagne, the lord de Benac, and others, to the number of fifteen. About the middle of this day, the count de Dunois and de Longueville arrived, and posted his men on the side toward Béarn, between the rivers Adour and Nive, which are so wide that the two divisions could not succour each other. The count de Dunois had under him six hundred lances, archers, and guisarmes, who commenced the siege gallantly.